Yu Darvish update: Lost in translation

We know that Yu Darvish met with Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer in Dallas Monday night. And we know this, in part, because Darvish himself confirmed the meeting.

There’s a bit more information out there about this meeting. Some of it comes from this Nikkan Sports article, but when run through Google Translate, the usual fractured English comes up. One thing the translation did appear to note is that Darvish’s agent was also part of the meeting; it also noted that the meeting was at Darvish’s home in the Dallas area. The Google translation of the final paragraph of that article reads as follows:

The forces also prepared a familiar jersey number "11" for Darvish. There is a high possibility of rapid development due to direct negotiations with the Army, which has always had the capability to target the world and has abundant financial resources. Before Christmas vacation, Darvish's new place will be decided.

“The forces” and “the Army” apparently refers to the Cubs. The last sentence is most interesting, especially because I found that article link via a tweet from Darvish himself Here’s that tweet:

Google Translate says that Darvish’s response to the article is:

It is not Honeymoon relationship at all and I have not decided by Christmas.

It is flat to the last for all teams.

The “honeymoon relationship” was noted in the Google translation of the Nikkan Sports article, but I’d read Darvish’s tweet this way: Darvish is going to give a fair hearing to all teams he’s interested in and won’t necessarily decide by Christmas, which is now only five days away.

As ever, if any readers here can post better translations of the above, I’d surely appreciate it.

The Cubs, of course, aren’t the only team interested in Darvish. He reportedly met with the Astros Tuesday:

Yu Darvish's market appears to be heating up, as the four-time All-Star has met with potential suitors on consecutive days. On Tuesday, one day after meeting with the Cubs, Darvish reportedly convened with the Astros, according to MLB Network insider Jon Heyman.

The Astros have not confirmed the report.

That article contains some curious language regarding the interest in Darvish from other teams:

Darvish has also drawn interest from the Twins, and some have speculated a possible reunion with the Rangers, with whom he signed as an international free agent in 2012 and spent his first four-plus seasons. Heyman also says the Mariners and Phillies have been speculatively linked to the right-hander.

The Twins’ interest appears to be genuine, but “speculatively linked”? The way I read that is: “The writer is guessing about other teams that could want this player.”

Regarding Darvish and his former team, the Rangers:

Darvish confirmed this meeting — on Twitter, in English:

That tweet was sent out Tuesday night, so it appears Darvish and Daniels are meeting for dinner tonight. Whether that leads to any formal offer from the Rangers is... speculation, and based on this article by Jeff Wilson, it sounds like the Rangers have moved on from Darvish.

So, that’s where we stand in the Darvish Derby as of Wednesday morning. Clear as mud, I know.

As always, we await further developments.